There is room for us all. The problem is not the wildly variant views we hold, but those who insist that only they are the real Democrats

Ideological purity – the idea that following only a prescribed set of political doctrines bestows legitimacy – is inherently un-democratic, and Democrats must avoid the trap Republicans fell into when they allowed their own moderates and centrists to go the way of the buffalo.

For years, those on the left have laughed at those on the right as they fell victim to ideological purists (Tea Party politics being a notable example). The advent of Bernie Sanders’ revolution has exposed some of the same cracks, however, on the left. If Republicans castigate Sanders as a communist, Sanders supporters do no less by calling Hillary Clinton a Republican.
...

Perhaps they haven’t thought of the millions of people who will lose their health insurance if any of the Republican candidates win the White House. They say Hillary Clinton is a “corporate shill” or has only Wall Street’s best interest at heart, but Hillary Clinton will not kill Obamacare. Democrats must not let hate get in the way of their common sense.
...

We Democrats are all Democrats. There has always been a spectrum from moderate to extreme and some are socially liberal and some are socially conservative while supporting Democratic economic policies. A political party is a mixed bag and that is how it has always been. We don’t all agree on every point, but that’s why we vote.
...

And that is a problem. A big problem. Either/or arguments, called the “false dilemma” fallacy by philosophers, are fallacious for a reason: there is almost always a third, or even a fourth or fifth choice. Our choices are almost never limited to either/or, black/white, or good/evil.
...

You won’t find those moderate Republicans campaigning for office. Today, these folks are called “RINOs” – Republicans in Name Only. Democrats want to be cautious about applying similar labels to their fellow Democrats.
...

The problem is not the wildly variant views we hold, but those who insist that they, and only they, are the real Democrats, the champions of ideological purity in the party where it can never be allowed to exist.
...

It’s not an easy job, being democratic, but because one party as already given up on the dream of America does not mean we should do the same.